The 46664 Aids volunteer guide

The Nelson Mandela Foundation and 46664 campaign have launched a booklet to help volunteers in the fight against HIV/Aids.

Speaking at the launch in Johannesburg on Monday, programme director Elaine Mckay said it was appropriate that the launch of the booklet coincided with the International Day of the Volunteer.

Making a difference The booklet explains HIV/Aids, how to prevent it, and volunteers’ rights and responsibilities. The Nelson Mandela Foundation started the national volunteer campaign in 2004.

The booklet also lists a number of organisations for people to contact for more information. While it is mainly in English, some of the technical words are underlined and translated into Zulu, Sotho, Xhosa and Afrikaans.

“The volunteer’s guide is about how do I make a difference? It is telling people’s stories through 46664, Mandela’s call to action on HIV,” Mckay said.

Mandela gave his Robben Island prison number to the campaign to remind people that the millions affected by the disease are more than just numbers and statistics.

National campaign “People are also reminded of how much still needs to be done,” Mckay said, appealing to South Africans to act on Mandela’s call to take responsibility for the fight against the pandemic.

“We can do this through volunteering and creating moments for change, and we hope this booklet will help people to give one minute of their lives to Aids,” she said.

One minute SABC 2 Morning Live presenter and 46664 ambassador Leanne Manas urged people to get involved.

“Give one minute of your life to Aids and make a difference,” Manas said. “We all like to push it onto someone else and say we do not have to worry about it, but we do.”

Manas said people should take responsibility for their lives and the country and show that collectively they could make a difference.

The booklet can be obtained at no cost from any Shoprite/Checkers store or Nedbank branch nationwide. It can also be downloaded as a pdf file from the Nelson Mandela Foundation website.